


the weight of living

by lunarlapis (witchstiel)



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, F/F, Gen, Homophobia, I just want them all to be happy, No Mark Jefferson, No Storm in Arcadia Bay, Rachel Lives, Recreational Drug Use, excessive gay thoughts, rachel basically adopts max
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-14
Updated: 2017-07-14
Packaged: 2018-12-02 00:14:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11497761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/witchstiel/pseuds/lunarlapis
Summary: all that you desired when you were a child was to be old, was to be oldnow that you are here suddenly you fearyou've lost control, you've lost controldo you like the person you've become?





	the weight of living

**Author's Note:**

> Max is new and Rachel is thrilled about it

Sometimes, you can wake up in the morning and feel weightless. You forget where you are and where you have been, and for just a second you are a kid again. And then you start to move and you feel the weight of living settle into your body like concrete. 

The concrete feeling lingers with Max today. She started her day in Seattle and now here she was, back where she belongs. It's strange how Arcadia Bay still feels like home. 

Five years made little difference on this town. Everything stands just as it did before Max left, albeit filled with different people. Maybe not  _all_ different... She knows she'll have to call Chloe eventually, ask how she is... Not yet though. 

Max sighs and eyes the empty wall above her bed. A picture wall would be nice, but she isn't sure if she wants to put up the same old Seattle photos she's had forever. Something new, maybe. New Max, new photo wall. She grabs her instant camera and her messenger bag and stands, determined to get some good photos for her room. 

In the hallway, a tall blonde with a pixie cut laughs and says something into her phone. She looks up when Max enters, and immediately disregards her with an eye roll, walking into her room. Nearby, upbeat music blares from an open door. A pretty blonde girl with a cross around her neck struggles to haul a couch toward her dorm room. Max looks at her anxiously, trying to figure out a way to greet her. 

"Do you need some help with that?" She decides on, gesturing to the couch. 

"That would be great, thank you," the girl smiles.  _Wowsers_ , Max thinks. That is a gorgeous smile. All warm and gentle, so genuine. 

Max lifts the other end of the couch and follows the blonde to her room, where they set it down against a wall. She notices a rabbit cage across from it. 

"Thank you so much! My name is Kate," she smiles shyly. 

"No problem. I'm Max," Max holds out a hand. "Nice to meet you." 

"Nice to meet you too," says Kate as she hesitantly shakes Max's hand. Max smiles and her hand lingers in Kate's for a beat too long. Blushing, she leaves the room and closes the door behind her. 

Max is met with a raised eyebrow on the face of a girl across the hall. "You liiiike her, don't you!" She smirks.

"WHat? That's nutso, why would I- I don't even-" sputters Max, cheeks beet red. 

"Oh you SO like her! Don't be embarrassed, girl. She seemed totally into you too," says the girl. "You new here?"

"Yeah. I'm Max Caulfield." She's still blushing as she watches this stranger flip her long hair behind her shoulder. 

"Pleasure to meet you, Max Caulfield. I'm Rachel. Rachel Amber." The honey-haired girl smiles, and Max can't help but smile back. Rachel's pretty hazel eyes shine with mischief, and she has a blue feather hanging from her ear. Everything about this girl is captivating. Max finds herself wanting to know every little detail about her. Rachel scans her up and down. "Why the retro camera?"

"It's like... I think you need to hold pictures to  _feel_ them. To really experience the moment, you know?" Max shrugs. 

"Yeah... Yeah, totally. Max, I think we're gonna get along great," says Rachel, grabbing Max's hand. "Come on. I have some friends I think you'll get along with." 

* * *

 

For the rest of the night, Max lets Rachel drag her along. They hang out in the courtyard with a couple people who Max can immediately tell are some of the 'cool kids'. There is Hayden, who seems like a good guy despite being high most of the time. Then there's Juliet, who is very kind but has a bit of a temper. The others have names Max can't remember, but they're fun to be around. Rachel shows her off like a shiny new toy, and everybody seems just as interested. What is it about being the new kid? Max can't help but wonder if maybe this is a set up for some big prank. Like the curtain was going to drop and they'd all laugh and call her a dyke. It had happened in Seattle, why not here too? 

But the people she meets are kind and not at all rude or assuming. She figures it helps that if somebody did insult her, Rachel would probably bite their head off. She'd known the girl for only a few hours, but Rachel seems like the ride-or-die type to Max. Plus, it also seems like Rachel runs this school. Nobody would fuck with a friend of hers. 

Then Rachel gives Max a tour of campus, complete with stories of what she's done in each building and which ones she'd been caught smoking behind. It's amazing how carefree she is. Max wonders how she does it. 

It's like Rachel doesn't feel the weight of living. She doesn't struggle to get out of bed in the morning or get anxious when she meets somebody new.  _Weightless_ , Max decides. Rachel Amber is weightless. 

Dana Ward is their final stop. When the two walk into her room, they find her dancing on her bed, pop music playing. She turns it down when she sees them. 

"Hey Rach! Who's your friend?" Dana asks, still on top of her bed. 

"This is Max. Blackwell's newest and coolest photography star," declares Rachel with a big smile. 

"I don't know about that," Max says with an awkward laugh. 

"I believe it. You've got that whole city hipster thing going on, people are gonna eat that shit up. Anyways, get up here and dance with me, Rach!" Turning up the music again, Dana helps Rachel onto the bed. Max watches the two girls move and sway, and she can't help but smile with them. Quickly, she pulls out her camera to capture the moment, and snaps a photo. 

"Get up here, hippie!" Rachel shouts over the music and extends a hand to pull her up. Reluctantly Max joins them, but quickly gets over herself to dance along with the music. 

Standing on Dana's bed, laughing and dancing, Max feels alive. She feels good, and free, and...  _weightless_. Rachel Amber makes her feel weightless. 

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first LIS fic! I'm still learning, but I hope you like it! Chapters will probably be fairly short most of the time! <3


End file.
